A/N- Okay thanks guys for another round of great reviews!
apathy- I'm glad you pick on these things and rest assured this victory will mean something, as Riley from the last of us said "we fight for every second we get to spend with each other, whether it's two minutes, or two days, we don't give that up"
AquaDestinysEmbrace- I enjoyed the new chapter and thanks again for another review!
Rebloxic- If your wish is to see Carver dead, I have a strong feeling you will love this chapter.
leafs nation- Thanks, I'm glad you found the last chapter interesting!
FunFX2012- Don't forget to wave him off.
Guest T- Thanks! You might be right... or wrong.
Eggomypeggo- Considering he hunted down that baby with a passion, I imagine that beneath the evilness of Carver, he still does care about his son.
Lockdown- Checked the reviews, but yours wasn't there. Either way I'm just gonna leave that story.
Maximo- What Carver would do for a klondike bar? Probably the same stuff he'd do for his berries (or worse).
"Go on! We'll deal with this!" Bonnie yelled to Luke, he didn't need telling this, he was already walking up to Carver's office with a permanent rage etched onto his face. Bonnie sighed and returned to dealing with the blaze...
Kenny quickly checked up on an unconscious Sarita, he kissed her forehead before he stood up again "You'll stay here and watch them?" he asked of Wyatt who was still crouched over Eddie.
"Relax, Marton Wyatt is on the job. You guys go deal with Bill" Wyatt reassured them, with this in mind, Clementine, Kenny, Stephanie, Nick and Sarah proceeded out of the armoury. Nick tried to convince Vince to come with them. But his words dried on his tongue, as Vince didn't even move or reply to him. With this in mind, the 5 of them made their way towards Carver's office.
Looking at the hardware store, Clementine could only see multiple bodies lying around, there was an eerie feel to the store, now that the guns and grenades had been silenced. Sticky blood slowly redecorated the tiled floor, in a deep, satin, red colour.
"Kinda creepy ain't it?" Kenny muttered to a still staring Clementine, she snapped out of her stupor when she heard this comment. But then she also saw the familiar form of...
"Luke!" she yelled to him happily, Luke was feet away from them, yet upon Clementine's comment he didn't look at her, instead he made a beeline for the stairs.
"Luke where's Jane?" Clementine asked, her gut slowly sinking as she observed that Jane wasn't joint with him at the hip (like she usually was). She also saw the dried tears on Luke's face as (once again) he didn't respond to her.
"Oh... shit" Nick said sadly. His azure eyes trailing after his best friend of 20 years as he disappeared up the stairwell to Carver's office.
"Let's make him pay. That's Shel, Russell and now Jane" Stephanie said darkly, Kenny sighed and led the other four towards Carver's office, hot on Luke's heels.
Clementine was too preoccupied thinking about Jane. How could Jane be dead? Jane was the sole survivor of events last time, how could Jane die? She felt like she had cheated Jane out of her life. If they had stuck to the original events than Jane would still be alive and the rest of them would be long dead.
She tried to sallow her guilt, as the grief bubbled it's way to surface. She had really grown to like Jane and even more so this time around.
She turned her grief to anger as they approached the door to Carver's office. He was in for it.
Rebecca watched as the door slid open, Luke walked in first, his steaming eyes trained to the floor, behind him, came Kenny with bandages wrapped tight around his right eye. Following him came a blood drenched Stephanie, the small form of Clementine and two other guards Rebecca didn't recognise.
"Evenin' folks" Carver called out causally from the floor, as if his life wasn't in mortal peril.
"Shut... your... fucking... mouth" was all Kenny could spit back, without tearing William Carver too shreds.
"Jesus! What happened to you!?" Rebecca began, alarmed at the scale of Kenny's injures as he shrugged her off.
"It's nothing, Troy just cut me a little..." he seemingly laughed, but Clementine could tell he was masterfully covering his agony at his eye injury.
"What about the others... are they...?" Rebecca asked with wide eyes.
"Bonnie, Mike, Wyatt, Sarita and Vince are fine. Russell, Shel and Jane aren't" Luke replied, in a sad mumble as he glared openly at Carver.
"What, is that all?" Carver asked, He certainly had nerve to say something like that to Luke. He bloated like a bullfrog and for a second Clementine thought he was going to charge at Carver. Instead he simply walked over to Carver's desk and began to mess with something... Carver tried to glance at him, but instead his eyes found Nick and Sarah who were standing by Clementine. His green eyes shone with familiarity, as he recognised them.
"So... you made it back Nicky boy" he spat at him, as Nick only glared silently back at him.
"Wait, Nick? Sarah!?" Rebecca chimed, gazing at the pair in disbelief.
"Yeah, we made it back" Nick finally replied, his voice betraying no emotions, his blue eyes however seemed to turn a more icy shade when he looked down upon Carver's form.
"So... did you get the supplies I asked for?" Carver groaned, his knees aching in agony, as spasms of pain shot up his legs.
"Yeah and I want to thank you Bill, in a strange way that trek outside the store, helped me and Sarah more than you could imagine" Nick told him, upon hearing this news, Carver's mouth twisted into a sick smile. "Good to know, you came back... improved..." he muttered through the small gap, between his rows of teeth.
"It still doesn't change the fact, you're a psychopathic asshole" Nick snarled down at him, as Carver remained silent at this remark. As he did, Rebecca embraced Nick and Sarah, "Thank God you're both okay" she murmured into Nick's shoulder, pulling the pair closer to them. When they broke apart Carver snarled "Alright, enough of the mushy shit. Are you gonna do this or what!?" he demanded of (the most dominant form) of Kenny.
"Oh don't worry, how could I forget?" Kenny hissed, as he drew a blunt metal bar from behind him. Clementine knew this was going to be ugly, but she was staying to watch the scene. No doubts about it. She had seen this before and lived with it and she would see it again.
"Clementine, you don't need to see this..." Rebecca began, turning to her.
"I'm staying right here" Clementine uttered to Carver's delight.
"Atta girl, she can look it in the eye" Carver said, his eyes following Clementine as she walked around his form, and took a seat in his high chair.
"What are you... getting the best seat in the house?" he asked in a sick sort of jest towards Clementine.
"I want the best view, so yeah" Clementine replied darkly, as Carver let out a hacking cough. When he finished he gazed up at Clementine again. "You know... you and me could have been great team. Had you not sided with the wrong people..."
"Their my family now. I'm with them" Clementine curtly responded, cutting off his sentence. Kenny circled Carver like a hawk, as if looking for the best place to strike him first. Carver didn't even gaze at the predator of Kenny. Instead he gaze remained locked on Clementine.
"You know why I wanted you alive right?" he asked of her. But before she could reply, Luke approached Kenny, with a deadpan look on his face.
"Give me that"
Kenny stared at Luke in bewilderment, his eyes (well his one eye) wide in confusion. For a couple of seconds, Kenny stood there awkwardly, the blunt metal pole still laid limply in his fingers.
"GIVE IT TO ME KENNY! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR YOUR SHIT!" Luke bellowed suddenly, a startled Kenny wordlessly gave the metal pole to Luke. Clementine also realised that Luke had now acquired (from the desk no doubt) a deadly silver pickaxe.
Carver turned from Clementine back towards Luke and let out his shrillest laugh yet, Luke didn't even flinch as Carver seemingly calmed himself down and managed to gasp... "Luke... you're going to finish me off!?" he asked in a humorous disbelief.
"That's right" Luke replied, twirling both weapons in his hands as Carver laughed again.
"Little Luke, Mr butter wouldn't melt in my knickers, is actually gonna stop preaching his moralistic bullshit. and stop running from his problems?" Carver asked with a raised eyebrow and in a mocking tone.
"Running away was a mistake. I should have just gutted you when I had the chance" Luke snarled, as Carver made a mock face of horror.
"What? You only saying this now because you're girlfriend died?" Carver teased him with, Luke seemed to have steam coming from his ears, as Rebecca turned rapidly to Sarah and began to usher her out the door "C'mon baby, you don't need to see this" she told the younger girl softly, but Sarah resisted being pushed from the room.
"I... I want to see this" she muttered.
"Sarah" Rebecca gasped, about to start an argument to as why the girl should leave. About why she couldn't see this... but Nick spoke up on Sarah's defence.
"Let her stay Rebecca, she needs to see this"
Rebecca's jaw hit the floor, as she glanced at an icy eyed Nick.
"But Nick..." she began, fumbling for an argument in her head. But suddenly she seemed empty headed, as all she could do was gawp openly, she saw Sarah's hardened eyes behind her new black rimmed glasses. Her rose tinted vision of the world would be permanently shattered after she witnessed this.
But Rebecca could only utter "Very well then" in a quiet, emotionless tone. As she turned back to Carver with a look of pure hatred on her face. Stephanie's silent, unwavering glare and demeanour told Rebecca that she wasn't going anywhere either and it would be a futile attempt to try and make Luke, Kenny or Clementine leave.
"All staying for the show. Grab some popcorn folks! Maybe Luke will make it slow and long..." Carver jeered at a furious Luke, as the two items in his hands shook violently. No one moved as Carver eyes rolled maliciously after everyone in the room, they finally rested on Clementine once again, who held his glare.
"I wanted to congratulate you... on leading a rebellion against me that worked. You turned Luke here into a man... and most of your friends survived this rebellion. I thought you'd just escape. You know...but you're a special little girl. You're stronger than all of them..." (when Carver said this, Clementine was very suddenly reminded of Lee, shrugging of this memory, she returned to the present).
"... you're what the next generation should be" Carver was saying, as he ploughed on, as he looked up at Clementine for the last time.
"Now admit it, you're like me" Were his last words to Clementine.
Clementine didn't break his gaze, or even blink, her reply was cold but honest.
"I know"
And that's when Luke struck Carver with the metal bar for the first time as he wheezed in pain, with blood dribbling from his lip, Carver coughed again and looked up at Luke with a sadistic grin "Come on then! Finish me off like a man!"
Luke didn't reply with words he simply hit Carver with the blunt metal bar, again and again and again... Carver finally started to whimper in pain, as his bones broke and his ribs cracked... his body becoming, tangled and bones jutting out of place, as they ripped through his skin. Carver grunted in pain, as Luke continued to pummel him, flecks of his blood starting to litter his office walls.
Luke finally took a breath, straightening up, as Carver managed to utter a single insult at him. Clementine didn't hear what it was, but Luke seemingly did. As tears of rage poured from his eyes, as he gripped his pickaxe so hard, Luke's own blood was sliding down the hilt of the pickaxe.
"FUCKING DIE!" Was what he screamed at Carver, spit and snot flying everywhere, as he now brought his pickaxe down onto Carver's flesh. It instantly cut through Carver's thick skin, as the leader continued to goad and torment Luke, as Luke only flew into a further frenzy. It was seemingly unreal what Clementine was witnessing, blood flew in every direction, as Luke literally cut Carver in half, but Carver was still alive and screaming in pain.
Luke gave up on his pickaxe, wordless roars of hatred and grief erupted from his throat, destroying his vocal chords, as he leapt on William Carver, ripping out his entrails from his stomach with his bare hands, as Carver screamed in agony. Yet Clementine watched the scene without even flinching, as Luke didn't seem to stop, his curled fingers burrowed themselves into the hole where Carver's stomach once was, pulling out every bit of pink flesh he could find and crushing it in his grip. He didn't finish, even when Carver started to choke on his own blood.
Instead when his hands had done their damage and Carver was clinging onto life by a mere thread, Luke shot up and suddenly began to bash Carver's face in, with the soles of his feet pressing down on his face. Luke didn't stop kicking and stomping on his face, even when it became unrecognisable mess of blood, and where Carver's mouth once was, there was dollops of the sticky liquid squirting upwards.
And still, Luke wasn't done, his hands slid across Carver face, digging into the ruined eyes as he squeezed, Carver finally went still and stop twitching, as Luke roared again, his fingers digging into Carver's brain, he raged and he punched and kicked, until Carver's skull finally cracked and snapped open like a treasure chest, revealing his mushy grey brains to the group. Luke gripped Carver's brain with his single hand and tore into it, his nails tearing it too shreds...
He finally finished, in a numb haze as fatigue overcame his body. Bits of Carver's flesh, were stuck into his clothes and hair, and burrowed under his nails. To say he was drenched was an understatement, about 98 per cent of the blood in William Carver's circulation, was now plastered onto Luke. He couldn't move, as he looked down to the unrecognisable mess that was William Carver, A mere empty shell of skin, with a few bones jutting from his form, were all that remained of him. His internal organs were thrown all over the office.
Clementine felt about as numb as Luke, after what she had just witnessed, had that been anyway else other than Carver, she would have worried immensely for Luke's mental health. She thought that was necessary but a bit over the top, she shared a glance with Kenny, she could tell he shared her mindset on the matter.
Stephanie didn't appear affected at all, after all she had done the same to Stan (or near enough) the difference was nobody saw that and Stephanie didn't use her bare hands. Rebecca whimpered slightly, knowing that was too over the top, but she understood that it had to be done. But that didn't mean she wouldn't talk to Luke about it and help him through his rough patch. Out of all of them, Nick looked the most disturbed, not because of Carver's gory demise. But the fact the nicest guy he had ever known... his best friend of 20 years, Luke. Was the one to do it. He was frightened by his friend's change.
Sarah was obviously affected, and quite disgusted by the bloodshed, as she slowly held her hand over her eyes. Never the less she saw the body and handled the situation a lot better than many were expecting her too.
"Luke?" Nick called out too his friend nervously, Luke stood up, still numb from what he had done.
"Let's get out of here" was all he could croak.
Clementine stepped past the corpses of Carver (and she couldn't believe she had missed it the first time) the corpse of Tavia laid down on the floor, as Kenny led the way out of the office. Everyone was speechless, there was nothing to say. What was done was done. William Carver was dead and they had won. But nobody felt too joyous at their "victory". Just numb, tired, traumatized and Clementine knew that no one was in the mood for celebrating. It had felt like they had just finished work and they had all had a very exhausting day. Leaving them tired and grumpy.
Yet just as they opened the door, victory was wiped from Clementine's mind as two men (covered in walker guts) held two guns directly to the group.
"DROP YOUR WEAPONS!" Steve commanded.